Value is crucial to sales success, and not just in the obvious way. Sure you need a strong value proposition to justify your price and distinguish you from the competition. But it’s also important to deliver value both before and after the sale.

Because delivering value to your buyer builds rapport, improves confidence, creates appreciation, and earns trust. All of which help you make the first sale as well as future ones.

So whether you’re trying to land a new client or looking to strengthen your customer loyalty, here are 19 ways you can be of value to your prospects and customers:

1. Educate them about your industry
2. Tell them what not to buy
3. Send articles, e-books, podcasts, and videos that relate to their needs, issues and interests
4. Provide a buyer’s guide
5. Invite them to events
6. Promote them
7. Send gifts
8. Feed them
9. Give them sneak peeks or free samples
10. Provide a free consultation, inspection, evaluation, or audit
11. Make them laugh
12. Give them referrals
13. Show them how to save money
14. Show them how to make more money
15. Alert them to risks they weren’t aware of
16. Support their favorite charity
17. Educate their distribution channel
18. Upgrade them
19. Connect them with others who can help them

You don’t need to employ all of these tactics of course, but the more of them you use, the stronger your relationship with your buyers will be. So determine which items on this list are appropriate for your company and your customers, and create a plan for implementing them. You’ll achieve more sales, more loyalty and more profits.

That’s a comprehensive list Don. While you’ve touched on the value of content I’d like to share my approach to this, I call it Selfless Inbound Marketing. By placing the customer front and center of all sales and marketing efforts it really turns the tables so the focus is on adding value to the buyer. My team knows that not every communication with a customer has to end in a move down the sales process but it should help the buyer in their journey. So every sales, marketing and customer success professional understands that their job is to help the customer. With this philosophy I’ve found that the impact on the customer’s relationship with our brand is strengthened, which in turn is reflected in the bottom line over time.